//for example what Neo does in the real world at the end, when the squidy-probe things come after them ... shoulda been a big deal, but was so rushed over
I think this'll be covered a whole lot more thoroughly in the third movie (I surely hope so, because I have no idea what the hell is going on any more). One of my friends said he felt like we'd only seen half of a much longer movie, and I'd tend to agree.

//also what Neo does to Trinity in the heart region
Single most cheesy thing in the whole movie, and IMO totally unnecessary. It takes a whole lot to make me groan out loud in a good movie. I'm sure they could have thought of something a bit less OTT. "I just love you too goddam much!" "Oh! I'm alive again, and perfectly fine! Let's snog!" Probably trying to make it more like manipulating code would've worked a whole lot better.

//oh, some sort of saboteur guy, second time we'd seem him, but not at all foregrounded.
remember when the two guys had stayed behind to wait for the Oracle to make contact? One guy got out OK with the Oracle's info, but the other one got attacked and taken over by Agent Smith before getting out of the Matrix - it was all kind of made out to be another of Neo's dreams, but that was the guy.

//it was feeling kinda like a noble-but-average-attempted-adaptation from a novel
Agreed; it's starting to take on a bit of a Star-Wars-ripping-good-yarn thing rather than the mindblowing philosophical experience the first one was for me.

I reckoned it was way more cheesy than the first movie, and I actually think they lingered too long on some of the fight scenes and the dance scene. The storyline is getting really amazing though - they've again highlighted the distinction between the humans and the robots in the form of religion, but now there's this whole idea that the robots are using religion to control the humans. Also, the whole idea of rogue programs - pieces of sentient code that have actually broken their own rules, and become entirely independent entities. In those ways the line between humans and machines is starting to blur. There's also this idea that perhaps humans and machines are holding this kind of uneasy symbiosis, and the Matrix isn't quite the demon that the humans think - or it could be a far worse demon than they ever imagined. It could be that the architects of the matrix are manipulating not only the humans inside the matrix, but the machines and the independent sentient programs, and also the humans who think they have broken free of it.

I found the ending really intriguing because they didn't give much away. I'm looking forward to seeing the third movie to work out what is actually going on.

i loved the concept that folklore is made up of the remnants of older versions of the matrix, they really could've explored that a bit more ... and the backdoor thing was a nice touch, but heather, you're right, it's becoming more of a rip-roaring star-wars-ish thing.

i thought a lot of the fightscenes were overlong, there seemed to be a lot of cashing in on the effects of the first matrix, it would have been nice if rather than repeat the most of the same effects they'd put a bit more thought into it - i mean the scene following the oracle just ended up looking like an xbox game! new eye-candy would've been great - the twins were fucking choice though!

i'd be a happy man if i could bake a cake like that.

as for the ending, it's non-conclusive which seems to be common in any trilogy, first story gets you interested, second story drags you in, then sets you up for a conclusion.

oh yeah, and trinity's insect-like head movements are really starting to tick me off, plus morpheus seems to have lost something ... he no longer makes sense, now he's got the air of a fool

in fact, it almost seems to me like the characters are becoming parodies of the first story

anyway, it was still entertaining, but i guess i had unrealistic expectations for it

third option - he could've done nothing - not chosen either door. i really want to expound this a lot more here, but lotsa people might not have seen it and if i go on a bit more, they'll find out the whole origin of the Matrix and that would surely suck ...

i imagine the third option would not make an interesting movie however!

yeah, i didn't much like the rave in Zion. that's really gonna date. but the love scene intercut with it was real sweet - Carrie-Ann and Keanu really do have some 'most excellent' chemistry goin on there.

Ted "Theodore" Logan, dude-r!

that sounded like a spoiler.......

if right.....oh so thank you very much for spoiling the show prisonsex.

don't hand around for the credits to finish....i work at a cinema, and believe me, cinema employees HATE credit watchers. haha, but i find i'l mildly amusing.

haha! Another coffee-meets-keyboard moment.

//Last Samurai looks good. Nice shots

thats almost exactly what my mum said.......does look like a film that one should go and see really, should be interesting to see how well they've disguised taranaki from looking kiwiish. wouldn't mind seeing brotherhood of the wolf either [though, thats not "coming soon" anymore, it's been out for a while now at rialto]

there is no ending.

Ha!..Toyota was the man!